By Keith Steeclif
Caleb woke up with a start at 2:00 am.
By pure reflex he picked up his phone and put it to his ear thinking a call had woken him up, but there was no call.
Caleb sat up on the edge of his bed and suddenly realized that there was someone standing in the shadows.
“Who’s there?”
Chance stepped into the light of Caleb’s nightstand light, which had been on when he’d fallen asleep.
“Chance, what are you doing here?” Caleb asked. Caleb really liked Chance. He had just transferred to the school this year. He’d first met chance in the dorms and they had an instant camaraderie.
Then he found out that Chance was a swimmer and he encouraged him to join the team.
It was at swim practice when Caleb and Chance were competing in free style that Caleb discovered that Chance was also one of the Sons of Ipwich. Being eighteen, however, Chance had already Ascended and Caleb knew that Chance’s powers were far greater than his.
After that practice, he’d approached Chance and told him how glad he was that Chance was one of them.
But he was surprised to find Chance in his room in the middle of the night. He’d obviously used his powers to come here. And he looked pensive.
“I’ve made a decision,” Chance said.
Standing, Caleb approached Chance and said, “Well, you can tell me all about it in the morning.” When he went to take Chance by the elbow to lead him out of his room, Caleb’s hand passed right through him.
“You’re an Astral Projection,” Caleb said.
“No, I’m not the Astral Projection,” Chance replied, pointing toward Caleb’s bed.
Caleb turned and saw himself laying in bed sleeping. He looked down at body. He looked as solid as anything else in the room. He tried to pick up a book on the desk. His hand went right through the book and the desk.
“What are you doing? Put me back in my body,” Caleb demanded.
“Like I said, I’ve made a decision,” Chance said and he walked past the astral form of Caleb and sat on the side of the bed.
“What is this, Chance?”
“I really like you, Caleb. Ever since I moved here, you made sure to include me in everything, like the fall social. I like you a whole lot, Caleb, and I think you like me too.”
“Sure, I do, Chance. I really like you.”
“You know, Caleb, you really are phenomenal.” He pulled the covers down to just below Caleb’s belly button. The sleeping Caleb, just like the Astral Projection, was wearing nothing put a pair of old shorts.
“What are you doing?”
“Look at yourself, Caleb. Really look at yourself.”
Caleb looked down at his own sleeping self and the sensation was a little unsettling. Caleb had only looked at himself straight on either in a mirror or on video. Looking at himself in 3D felt a little unfamiliar, like he was looking at himself for the first time.
“Handsome,” Chance said, “Stunningly so, and such an amazing physique.” Chance put his hand on Caleb’s chest. Although the sleeping Caleb didn’t stir at all, the Astral Caleb felt a warm hand over his left pec.
“Chance, stop this,” Caleb said.
Chance ignored him and repeated, “Amazing.” He slowly ran his hand across Caleb’s chest, across his rib cage, and down his stomach. Caleb felt a quiver that ran through his body.
“Stop,” Caleb said feebly. It was true that he like Chance that way, but he was not ready to come out to anyone. Only his friend, Pogue, knew about that.
“I’ve decided that I want you to be my boyfriend.”
“Chance, I’m not that way,” Caleb lied, wanting to guard that secret as closely as he did his own Powers.
Chance was still running his hand over Caleb’s torso. Caleb had to fight hard not to react to the touch. “Chance, I can’t be your boyfriend. I’m sorry.”
“It’ll be great,” Chance said, ignoring Caleb’s response, “Using our Powers together, we’ll be the most amazing couple in the universe. Oh, and there’s something else I want to show you.”
Chance stood up and went to the end of the bed. He pulled back the covers to expose Caleb’s feet.
“Look, Caleb, look at your feet.”
Again, Caleb had that disconnected feeling that he was looking at someone else’s bare soles, although he knew they were his own feet. He looked at them and didn’t see anything unusual. “What about them?”
“Aren’t they spectacular?”
“What, my feet?”
“Your awesome feet. Look at them. Nice high arches, and a perfect row of descending, plump toes. Since we’re going to be boyfriends, you need to know I’ve got this thing for feet. This big thing for feet. And you’re feet are just adorable.”
“Chance, we’re not going to be boyfriends, okay?”
“And there’s something else you need to know. The only thing I love more than adorable bare feet are adorable, ticklish bare feet.”
Caleb’s eyes grew wide. “Oh no, Chance, you wouldn’t”
Chance put his index finger on Caleb’s right heel and started scraping it upward, saying, “Tickle, tickle, tickle.”
Although Caleb was standing there beside Chance seeing his real foot getting tickled, he felt it in his astral foot. And his physical toes started to wiggle although his sleeping form didn’t move or react in any other way. Caleb tried so hard to suppress the laughter that was fighting to break free.
“Look at how your toes wiggle, Caleb. I love that, seeing your toes wiggle and your soles wrinkle. That’s why I’m allowing your real body to wiggle your toes. I’ll bet that really tickles, doesn’t it.”
Chance kept running his finger up and down Caleb’s bare sole. Caleb couldn’t take it, he burst out laughing. “Stop, Chance! Ha ha ha! I’m really ticklish! Hee hee hee haa haa!”
“Man, you are really ticklish. I absolutely love that!” Chance started tickling Caleb’s feet with both hands.
The Astral Caleb fell to his knees laughing loudly. His real toes and his astral toes were wiggling like crazy, but his real body was not moving or reacting in any other way so there was nothing Caleb could do to escape the tickling fingers. By sheer reflex, he reached out and tried to slap Chance’s hands away, but his astral form passed right through him.
“Please, Chance,” Caleb sputtered between fits of laughter, “Please stop, it tickles so bad.”
Chance pulled his hands away. “I know, Caleb, I’m sorry. I just love ticklish guys so much. I’m so glad that you’re so ticklish. We’re going to have so much fun together. You’ll be my boyfriend, right?”
“Chance, I like you. I really do, I like you a lot, but we can’t be boyfriends. I’m just not ready… I mean I’m just not that way and it’ll never work.”
“Apparently,” Chance said, “you need a little convincing.” Chance returned to the side of the bed and sat on the edge. Caleb came up alongside the bed on the other side of his own body laying there peacefully with eyes closed.
Chance took Caleb’s wrists and lifted his arms up above his head, resting them on the pillow in full repose.
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Chance asked.
“No,” Caleb said firmly.
Chance reached out suddenly and put his fingers at the bottom edges of Caleb’s rib cage and started rolling his fingers upward, saying, “Kitchy, kitchy, koo.”
Caleb immediately burst out laughing. He brought his astral arms down to his sides, but that did nothing to protect his corporeal ribs as Chance slowly tickled upward. Caleb again fell to his knees laughing hysterically.
Chance paused about midway up Caleb’s rigcage, rolling his fingers merciless and saying, “Tickle, tickle, tickle. Tickle, tickle.”
Caleb’s real body didn’t react at all, but his astral form was doubled over in ticklish laughter. After several seconds in place, Chance started to move his fingers upward.
“No,” Caleb managed to mumble through his laughter, “please not my pits.”
Chance’s fingers moved into the fine tufts of hair in Caleb’s deep armpits. Caleb’s laughter increased tenfold as he was helpless to the feather light touch of Chance’s fingers.
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Chance asked.
“I can’t,” Caleb managed to respond through peals of laughter.
Chance stopped tickling and stood up. “You’re just not making this easy, are you Caleb? You realize, in this state, with your real body not reacting to my tickling at all, that I can keep this up indefinitely; forever if I want.”
Chance stood and snapped his fingers. Instantly, he was dressed exactly like Caleb in nothing but a pair of identical shorts. “Don’t you find me attractive?” Chance asked.
Caleb couldn’t stop himself from checking Chance out, although he saw him like this at the pool all the time. He had to admit to himself that this wasn’t the first time he’d checked Chance out. But he said to Chance, “Sure, you’re great, it’s just that I…”
“No excuses,” Chance said, “time to get serious.” He held his hands out over Caleb’s body. Caleb watched as his body slowly lifted up off the bed, the covers still over him from waist to ankles. Once his body was a couple feet up in the air, it slowly rotated until it was facedown, the covers wrapping around his legs a bit. Then his body lowered back down on the bed so he was laying on his stomach.
Chance climbed up on the bed on top of Caleb, his head at the end of the bed. He pulled back the covers to once again expose Caleb’s bare feet.
“Now just look at those cute feet sticking out from the covers, soles all wrinkled and pointing upward like that. You can’t tell me that the thought of giving them a tickle isn’t at least a little tempting.”
Caleb couldn’t deny it. It reminded him of something from the beginning of the summer when he and the guys had gone camping and he and Pogue shared a tent. In the morning, Caleb had awoken early. He climbed out of his sleeping bag and unzipped the tent flap a bit to look outside. It was early morning and it was drizzling. Zipping up the tent, he turned and noticed that Pogue was sleeping on his stomach. The bottom of his sleeping bag was unzipped and his bare feet were sticking out just like Caleb’s were on the bed now.
Caleb remembered looking at Pogue’s bare soles all wrinkled like that and having such an urge to tickle. He reached out with a single finger and drew it down the center of Pogue’s right foot. Pogue’s foot twitched. Caleb waited a second or two and did it again and again Pogue’s foot twitched.
Soon, Caleb found himself lightly tickling Pogue’s sleeping feet, making them twitch and his toes wiggle, and finding that he was enjoying it. He thought Pogue was asleep, but suddenly Pogue grabbed him by the ankles and started scrubbing Caleb’s bare soles.
Caleb had burst out laughing and he too grabbed Pogue’s ankles and tickled his feet more vigorously. The two of them rolled about on the floor of the tent, tickling each others soles and laughing hard. But both refused to submit, so they tickled each other’s feet for a couple minutes.
Pogue was very ticklish, but Caleb was more so, so he started to lose his strength and was not able to keep up with the tickling of Pogue’s feet. So Pogue got the upper hand and was able to sit on the back of Caleb’s legs and tickle his feet unhindered.
Just as Caleb was about to submit, Reid and Taylor came to see what all the commotion was about. They ganged up on Pogue and pulled him off Caleb. An all out tickle fight ensued between the three of them, with Pogue eventually getting pinned by the other two, arms forced above his head, and had his ribs and armpits tickled until he cried uncle.
With Reid sitting across Pogue’s legs, Caleb had been able to tickle Pogue’s feet the whole time. Laying on his stomach, he put one arm over Pogue’s shins and tickled both his soles with his fingernails. Caleb had actually found the whole scene very exciting. His own soles still tingling from Pogue’s tickling, as he and the other two shirtless, barefoot men tickled Pogue to complete exhaustion.
Now Chance was on top of Caleb about to tickle his feet again. Chance opened his right hand and a stiff, white feather suddenly appeared. He brought the feather toward Caleb’s defenseless soles.
“No, Chance, not the feather,” Caleb said weakly. But it was too late. Chance started gliding the tip of the feather along the grooves of Caleb’s wrinkled soles.
Caleb’s toes started wiggling again. The feather didn’t tickle nearly as much as Chance’s fingers had, but still he found himself starting to giggle. Soon he was laughing softly and asking Chance to stop. Chance kept right on tickling his soles and toes with the feather.
Caleb was sitting on the floor facing his own upturned soles and watching Chance play with them with the feather. He watched the look on Chance’s face, he was really into this. And although it forced light laughter from him, the feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant for Caleb. Chance tickled Caleb’s feet with the feather for a few minutes. Then he said, “Okay, Caleb, time to decide.” He grabbed Caleb’s right big toe and started wiggling it. “This little piggie went to market. Will you be my boyfriend?”
“Chance, please.”
He wiggled the next toe. “This little piggie stayed home. Will you be my boyfriend?”
“I really do like you, Chance, but…”
“This little piggie had roast beef.”
“Please, no.”
“And this little piggie stayed home. Last chance.”
“But my friends and family wouldn’t understand.”
Chance wiggled Caleb’s pinkie toe and said, “And this little piggie went wee, wee, wee all the way home.” He started scratching his nails across Caleb’s bare soles.
“No, Chance, it tickles!” Caleb managed to yell before bursting out in laughter.
“It’s an awfully long way home for the poor little piggie, Caleb. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? Will you be my boyfriend?”
Watching his soles getting tickled and feeling it at the same time was too much for Caleb, but he couldn’t give it. He wouldn’t give in. In his astral form, he rolled around on the floor laughing hysterically.
Finally, Chance stopped. “You sure are a stubborn one,” Chance said, “but that’s okay. The more you hold out, the more I get to tickle you. But you’ll admit in the end that you like me. I can tell.”
Chance stood up. Suddenly, Caleb’s perspective shifted. He found himself laying on his stomach on the bed. He was back in his body. Chance moved to the end of the bed and placed his hand on Caleb’s right sole.
“You and these ticklish feet will be mine,” he said and then suddenly disappeared.
Caleb wasn’t sure what to do. He really did like Chance, but he wasn’t ready for everyone to know about him. And the tickling. If Chance was really into it, could Caleb stand it? He could use his powers to make himself less ticklish, or enjoy the tickling more. But the bigger issue is keeping his secret about who he felt. As Caleb tried to figure out his feelings, he fell into a fitful sleep.
Caleb awoke several hours later when there was a knock on the door. He thought it might be Chance again and the idea both excited and frightened him. But when the door opened, Pogue walked in.
“Hey, your Mom let me in,” he said. “She just left to go into town.”
“What’s up?” Caleb said, sitting up in the bed. The bed covers were still pulled up over his ankles to expose his bare feet and Caleb didn’t bother to cover them up. Pogue sat down on the end of the bed.
“Let’s go to the beach today.”
“I don’t think I want to go to the beach.”
“Oh, come on,” Pogue said and ran his index finger down Caleb’s right sole. Caleb’s foot twitched and he let out a surprised laugh. “That’s right, I forgot how ticklish your feet are. Remember the camping trip last summer? Come on, Caleb, let’s go to the beach.” Pogue leaned in close to Caleb’s feet and with all his fingers started to tickle them lightly, saying, “kootchie, kootchie.”
“Okay, okay,” Caleb laughed, pulling his feet away and then standing up. “Let me go shower.”
“Great, I’ll get changed,” Pogue said.
Caleb came out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing just his swim suit. Pogue was similarly dressed. It was mid-Fall in Massachusetts and a gray, rainy day. But the two men combine their powers and in an instant they were at the beach house on the private island in the Caribbean that Pogue’s parents owned. It was a sunny, warm day and they had the entire island to themselves.
They grabbed a few towels and went down to the beach for a swim. Afterward, they laid two towels next to each other on the sand and laid down for some sun.
After only a few minutes, Pogue leaned up on one elbow facing Caleb and said, “About that camping trip last summer, I still owe you, you know. You tickled me pretty bad that day.”
“If I recall,” Caleb said, “I didn’t get off easy that day. In fact, you were getting me pretty good before Reid and Taylor jumped in.”
“Exactly, they spoiled my fun. Your feet are by far the most ticklish of any of us. And you were just so much fun to tickle. So I wanted to show you a new spell that Chance taught me.”
“Chance?” Caleb asked. But before he could do anything, Pogue’s eyes flashed red and then turned black as night. The sand underneath Caleb suddenly gave way and he was sinking. He tried to get free, but the sand sucked him in, bending his legs toward his body until in just a few seconds he was completely buried from neck to ankles. And with his legs doubled up, his feet were quite close to his head.
Pogue moved his towel right up to Caleb’s defenseless soles and laid down on his stomach. “Comfy?” he asked.
“Come on, Pogue, let me up.”
“No way, Caleb,” Pogue said starting to lightly trace his finger up and down Caleb’s right sole. Caleb’s toes started to wiggle and he started to giggle. “Your feet are just too tempting like this. And like I said, I owe you.”
Pogue started tickling Caleb’s feet vigorously. In less than twenty-four hours, Caleb once again found his feet being tickled tortured by a friend. He was always tickled a lot, being as ticklish as he was. He normally didn’t mind it, he might even admit that he like getting tickled somewhat. But his feet were so ticklish and these guys just weren’t letting up. Pogue was tickling Caleb’s defenseless bare soles as fervently as Chance had the night before.
After Caleb and been laughing hysterical and begging Pogue to stop for several minutes, Caleb looked up and saw someone approaching them on the beach. He did a double take. It was Pogue.
“What’s going on?” the second Pogue said. “The silent alarm on the house was tripped and I came down to see what it was.”
The first Pogue stopped tickling Caleb’s feet. His features morphed and it was Chance laying in front of Caleb’s bare soles.
“Sorry, I didn’t think of that,” Chance said, “I was just having some fun tickling Caleb’s feet. Remember how he tickled you last summer on that camping trip? Don’t you want to get him back?”
“You alright, buddy?” Pogue said to Caleb, who was panting heavily.
“He’s tickling my feet so bad. I’m so ticklish. I can’t stand it.”
“Looks like he’s had enough,” Pogue said to Chance.
“But he hasn’t agreed to be my boyfriend yet.”
“What?” Pogue said, surprised.
“I want Caleb to be my boyfriend, but he is reluctant to admit that he wants it too. Maybe I can use a little different approach.”
Suddenly, Pogue was sucked down into the sand too. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and black shoes. He was now opposite Caleb, similarly buried in the sand. Chance pulled off his shoes and socks. “From Caleb’s memories of last summer, I know these feetsies are ticklish, aren’t they, Pogue. So, Caleb, unless you agree to be my boyfriend, I’ll tickle torture Pogue’s poor defenseless bare feet and you’ll get to watch.”
“Chance, stop this,” Caleb said.
“Is that a no?” Chance said and started to stroke Pogue’s bare soles. Pogue was only able to resist for a few seconds before he started to laugh and beg Chance to stop. His feet seemed even more ticklish than Caleb remembers. Perhaps Chance used a spell to make his feet ultra-sensitive. In seconds, Pogue was laughing hysterically.
“Join the fun,” Chance said to Caleb. Although Chance was tickling Pogue’s feet, Caleb could now feet the fingers as if they were tormenting his own soles. And the tickling was worse, much worse than even Caleb’s already ticklish feet. Soon, he was as hysterical as Pogue.
“You know, Caleb, Pogue knows about you and Reid and Taylor suspect. By resisting me, all you are doing is prolonging the inevitable. And look at poor Pogue here. He sure is ticklish. I don’t know how much more he can stand. You sure you won’t reconsider? Will you be my boyfriend?”
“Yes! Yes! I’ll be your boyfriend. I promise.”
Chance immediately stopped tickling Pogue’s feet. Pogue was still laughing and wiggling his toes frantically.
“You sure?” Chance said, “I know I’ve been tickle torturing you to get you to agree, but I really do want you to make you decision based on what you really want. I was just trying to help you get over your fear of what others would think of you. So I promise, whatever answer you give me, I’ll honor your decision. Do you really want to be my boyfriend?”
Caleb paused for just a moment and then said, “Yes, yes I do.”
Instantly, Caleb and Pogue were released from the sand and laying on the beach breathless. Chance stood up, “Sorry, Pogue, buddy, but Caleb needed a little convincing and he seemed able to endure my tickling a lot more than I thought. Thanks for the use of your ticklish tootsies.”
“When you told me you were going to bring Caleb here and you needed me to come help you convince him, I didn’t know I was going to get tickled silly.”
“You mean you knew about this?”
“I knew Chance liked you and wanted to try to get with you. I didn’t know he’d be tickling to two of us into hysterics. I haven’t had a good laugh like that since last summer when you and the guys got me.”
“So you aren’t mad?”
“Over a little tickling, nah, all things considered, it was kinda fun.” Then Pogue turned to Chance and said, “But don’t get any ideas. You want to tickle someone from now on, stick to your boyfriend here.”
“Believe me, I will,” Chance said. Then he turned to Caleb and said, “See, your friends know we belong together.”
“Do you,” Caleb said to Pogue.
“I know you, Caleb, and I hate seeing you unhappy and so secretive about yourself. You should be happy.”
“Oh, I’ll make him happy,” Chance said, “He’ll be laughing every day.”
“I’m sure I will,” Caleb replied. “I’m in for a world of tickling, aren’t I?”
“Afraid so. I can’t get enough. But don’t worry, now that we’ve both gotten what we want, I can make sure you enjoy every ticklish second of it.”
“We should celebrate,” Pogue said, “My parents have some very expensive champagne up at the house.” He picked up his shoes and socks. “Shall we?”
As the three men walked up the beach, Pogue turned to Chance and said, “You know, I still owe Reid and Taylor for last summer too. You think you can show me that buried in the sand trick?”
“Sure,” Chance said, “And I can show you how to make their feet as ticklish as all get out.”
“That’d be cool. I really want to get those guys good. You won’t be the only one around here who’s tickled pink, Caleb.”
“You think you’re up for it?” Chance asked.
“I am up to anything you can possible dish out.”
“I’m going to enjoy testing that bravado.”
“Yes, I’m sure you are.”
“All I know,” Pogue said, “Is that magic rocks.”
“You said it,” the two men agreed. And Caleb realized he’d been worried about nothing and actually looked forward to the attention to his ticklish feet. He was already thinking of ways to please Chance’s desires. And that is when Caleb knew that through their magic and Chance’s tickling, Caleb was going to be the happiest witch on earth.